Build Stuff'16 Lithuania

Do strong personalities dominate your development team? Are code reviews painful? Are you blindly following  orders from a backlog, or are you learning from observation? Visual Thinking Strategies, or VTS, is a cross­disciplinary technique applicable to anyone working in a  collaborative setting where observation is key. VTS develops critical thinking skills by viewing and discussing  works of art in a group. It is backed by over 30 years of field research showing its effectiveness and  accessibility. By allowing individuals to talk about art ­ without needing a background in the field ­ VTS  advances skills you can use to create more relevant products and stronger teams: Observing, Brainstorming,  Speculating, Reasoning with Evidence, Cultivating a Point of View, and Revision & Elaboration. During this interactive exercise, we’ll discuss selected works of art as a group. There are no right answers or  group consensus being sought. We’re creating an environment and process for looking, thinking, reasoning  and revision skills that are mission­critical to anyone working in a software design or development role. After  our group discussion, I’ll introduce the basics of image selection and facilitating VTS sessions within your  organization. In addition to the above, I’ll cover how VTS can help you and your team with the following:  Comfort with Ambiguity, Openness to the Unfamiliar, Civil Debate, and Willingness to Participate in Group  Thinking.